The Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents (SAICA): Testing of a New Semistructured Interview

Abstract

Recently, a number of authors have concluded that there are few suitable instruments for the systematic assessment of children's adaptive functioning. The Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents (SAICA) is a new semistructured interview that was designed for administration to school‐aged children as a self‐report, or to parents about their children, for use in clinical and epidemiological studies. The SAICA provides an evaluation of children's functioning in school, in spare time activities, and with peers, siblings, and parents. Data from a study of 124 children, ages 6 to 18, of parents with and without a history of major depression support the construct, convergent, and discriminant validity of the instrument. The children's own histories of DSM‐III, Axis I diagnoses, rather than major depression in their parents, were found to reliably distinguish their patterns of social functioning. Children with dysthymia had the poorest functioning in all areas by both children's and mothers' reports. These results suggest that the SAICA is a promising instrument for the assessment of social adjustment among children and adolescents.